Troy was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch on 16 Jan 2002, for the Salt Lake City Winter Games. Some of the reasons he was chosen were, despite being a disabled veteran, breaking his back during Desert Storm, he has spent a good part of his life working with children, purely on a volunteer basis, whether it is mentoring them, coaching (youth sports, Special Olympics, etc.), fostering, coaching parents by teaching parenting skills customized to their specific situation, trying to volunteer as a CASA (court appointed special advocate) when needed, etc. He has helped numerous people to help them get and stay clean and sober, and continues to do so. Troy also works with other disabled veterans, and tries to do what he can to assist the families of the soldiers that did not return. As Troy has put it many times, "It is the responsibility of those of us that made it back, to look after the families of our brothers and sisters that did not."